Trihill Capital Injects Funding to Hey! Kafe Startup

New economy startup Hey! Kafe announced the acquisition of an initial stage investment with an undisclosed amount from Trihill Capital. This fresh fund will be used to accelerate the expansion of 300 outlets by the end of next year and release applications to encourage transactions from digital channels.

Hey! The cafe was started in June 2020 by Edwin Djaja. He is the founder of Seven Retail, a multi-brand company that houses various brands — one of which is Golden Lamian, a leading Chinese fast-casual chain in Indonesia, which currently has more than 70 outlets since its establishment in 2017.

Hey! The cafe is designed in such a way that it can move swiftly in the midst of intense competition in the F&B retail industry by utilizing the presence of technology.

In an official statement, Edward said Hey Kafe uses the Same Store Sales Growth strategy, which focuses on increasing average sales per branch, not only increasing sales by increasing the total number of branches.

This strategy enables each branch to earn a return on investment of under 12 months. “Surely this is an important factor for the business to continue to grow rapidly in a sustainable manner in the following years,” said Edward.

Offer Franchise Partnership

For store expansion, the company offers franchise partnerships, as many other F&B retail businesses do. In addition, the company uses a low-asset business model strategy to support grab & go delivery service facilities.

Most outlets are designed to be small and compact, thus requiring minimal capital. This step was taken because about 70% of Hey! The cafe is carried out online, in collaboration with various food delivery platforms, such as GoFood, GrabFood, ShopeeFood, and TravelokaEats.

Product innovation is also an important part. Edward said, in the branding strategy and new product development, the company routinely tests more than 20 product concepts every month.

This strategy has succeeded in producing various unique menus and products and becoming best-sellers, such as the Hey-Shake!, Strawberry Heaven Hey-Shake, and Choco-Cashew Hey-Shake drink series.

Hey Kafe’s target users are the younger generation, which is the largest population in Indonesia. Therefore, good product quality and affordable prices are the strengths of Hey Kafe.

Currently, Hey Kafe is able to sell 12 thousand glasses per day or 350 thousand glasses per month from 60 outlets currently operating in Greater Jakarta and Surabaya.

Edward hopes that with the support of VCs, such as Trihill Capital, the company can become the ammunition to become the leading grab & go network player in Southeast Asia. He targets that the funds will be used to strengthen branding strategies and investment in technology.

“In early 2022, Hey Kafe will launch an in-house mobile application that makes it easy for all consumers to transact, so it is expected to be able to increase sales, which currently reach 350 thousand glasses each month,” he concluded.

High Enthusiasm from Venture Capitalists

Food tech services in general are on the rise. This type of company utilizes technology as a whole, starting from the supply chain of raw materials, operational efficiency, financial records, payments, to distribution.

Covid-19 has really had an impact on the F&B industry, but at the same time tested the business mentality of its founders. 

Some who choose to continue to accelerate their business, transform by utilizing the various existing services. To maintain the trend of growth, industry players have started to take advantage of digital channels. 

This model is quite efficient, because companies can also take advantage of data obtained from consumer habits recorded in the application, so that they can offer products and services that are more in line with their market share. The enthusiasm of venture capitalists is also increasing to enter this segment.